Here is the view from our room :)
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Our Backyard
OK OK I know I've been posting alot tonight... I'm clearing out the camera for our trip starting tomorrow. I'm sitting here in the dark while the kids are sleeping (yes sleeping!) in the hotel room. We get up at 4am so we can be on time getting to the airport accross the street (we are at the Hilton right near the airport with a gorgeous view of the water)...
So back to the post... I wanted to show you our new backyard!!! Next time you come down you'll have to see it in person :)
We hired a neighbor from down the street to do the work, got the stone from RCP. We went with Classic Oak flagstone which I think turned out gorgeous. We wanted it to have a natural feel to it, so we kept the larger pieces of flag and filled the joints with crushed quartz (I think we might add more crushed quartz after we seal it). I think it looks amazing. Most of the pics were taken from the deck off of our master bedroom as that was the only place I could get all of the area at once.
It was interesting to watch the progression, with first the sand, then the leveling of the sand, then all the pieces being fit together, leveling (3 full days of leveling after the pieces were all in place), then the jointing. It was quite a process. Each piece weighed around 250 pounds I think Chris said (Chris if I'm wrong correct me :) )
Enjoy!
Each week has it's own album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/heather.gray.walker/BackyardWeek1
http://picasaweb.google.com/heather.gray.walker/BackyardWeek2
http://picasaweb.google.com/heather.gray.walker/BackyardWeek3
http://picasaweb.google.com/heather.gray.walker/Backyard
Ashley graduates from 8th Grade :)
Thursday miss Ashley graduated from 8th Grade. It was the largest class Murrieta has ever had - 624 kids graduated this afternoon. She looked like a goddess I told her with her flowing dress. She had a great time, very nice ceremony even though it was HOT! I got a little sunburn on the areas we missed sunblock - and I sat for an hour under an umbrella!
She got a watch for graduation, and her friend Laura came over and spent the night. The graduation was bittersweet for her, as many of her friends (including her bestest friend Victoria, in the pic above) are going to Murrieta Valley High next year, unlike her (Vista Murrieta for Ashley)...
Ashley graduated with a GPA of 3.7 this year. Not too shabby!
Here are all the pics from the event:
http://picasaweb.google.com/heather.gray.walker/Graduation
Slideshow:
Ashley's 8th Grade Dance
So Ashley had her 8th grade dance Wednesday June 11th. Here is what she wore - isn't it cute :) I dropped her off at her friend Laura's house so that they can go to the dance together. She said they had fun with everyone there, and there was drama with kids getting in trouble at the dance (but of course not her group LOL )...
If you want to see all the pics I took of her, They are here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/heather.gray.walker/8thGradeDance
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Heather won an Award!
So this week I was presented with the AIM Exec Excellence award for my part in working on the Separation from Boston Scientific + Integration into Abbott gigantic project. Out of our entire AV IT organization, 10 of us were picked for this award. The Senior managers picked key people from each major team as the leaders for their efforts and successes in their particular area.
This award is the highest IT award given out at Abbott I'm told. Now that I'm part of the Elite, I told my manager that I deserve a special set of letters after my name. He said that another recipient was talking about putting "Major Award Winner" after his name in his signature. I'm thinking more along the lines of initials, which always seem important. What do you think...
Heather Walker, MAW
...
and next June -
Heather Walker, MAW, MAM
:)
This award is the highest IT award given out at Abbott I'm told. Now that I'm part of the Elite, I told my manager that I deserve a special set of letters after my name. He said that another recipient was talking about putting "Major Award Winner" after his name in his signature. I'm thinking more along the lines of initials, which always seem important. What do you think...
Heather Walker, MAW
...
and next June -
Heather Walker, MAW, MAM
:)
We're Land Barons!
Hi Everybody, we've got to share our latest news. We're about to be landowners! We signed a contract tonight on 2 acres of land just outside Cove. It is a beautiful piece that we just fell in love with.
Click images to enlarge. Here's a view from the top of the property looking west toward La Grande. You can see most of the land in this photo. The roads form the eastern and southern boundaries. The fence in the middle distance with the RR tie gateposts is the western edge. You can just make out some treelimbs on the extreme right that are near the northern edge. The photo flattens everything out--we are actually looking downslope from probably 300 feet above the valley floor.
Here's our backyard--good ol' Mt. Fannie!
Another backyard view. The truck is parked on the upper (eastern) edge of the property.
Looking NW toward Mt. Emily. These are the cottonwood trees that you see just a bit of in the first photo. Our boundary is on the other side of the trees. There's a lovely little creek that flows beside the trees and is also on our land.
Looking SW toward Union. You can see the fence that forms the lower (western) edge of the property.
We're buying it from an artist and her screenwriter husband, originally from northern CA. They lived in Portland for about 6 years before moving to Cove. They were originally asking $85,000. They lowered the price to $79,500. We negotiated to $72,500 final price. (Oh, and I have to throw in a smallish painting :)
What do you think?? We're pretty excited!
Good news from Jared today, too. He's linked up with a tech job placement company in Beaverton that is going to recommend him as part of a creative programming team that will be designing software for a company called Ethicspoint.com. Good luck, Jared!! Why don't you tell us all more about it?
Love,
Mom & Dad
Click images to enlarge. Here's a view from the top of the property looking west toward La Grande. You can see most of the land in this photo. The roads form the eastern and southern boundaries. The fence in the middle distance with the RR tie gateposts is the western edge. You can just make out some treelimbs on the extreme right that are near the northern edge. The photo flattens everything out--we are actually looking downslope from probably 300 feet above the valley floor.
Here's our backyard--good ol' Mt. Fannie!
Another backyard view. The truck is parked on the upper (eastern) edge of the property.
Looking NW toward Mt. Emily. These are the cottonwood trees that you see just a bit of in the first photo. Our boundary is on the other side of the trees. There's a lovely little creek that flows beside the trees and is also on our land.
Looking SW toward Union. You can see the fence that forms the lower (western) edge of the property.
We're buying it from an artist and her screenwriter husband, originally from northern CA. They lived in Portland for about 6 years before moving to Cove. They were originally asking $85,000. They lowered the price to $79,500. We negotiated to $72,500 final price. (Oh, and I have to throw in a smallish painting :)
What do you think?? We're pretty excited!
Good news from Jared today, too. He's linked up with a tech job placement company in Beaverton that is going to recommend him as part of a creative programming team that will be designing software for a company called Ethicspoint.com. Good luck, Jared!! Why don't you tell us all more about it?
Love,
Mom & Dad
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Chris & Heather in San Francisco!
While Mom & Dad were up in Washington visiting Judd & Kathy and friends, Chris & Heather were up in San Francisco hanging out for the weekend. We flew out from LA on Friday night in a little plane that freaked Chris out the whole hour flight! We had a great time checking out the city, Alcatraz and the Muir Woods with a little wine tasting in Sausalito!
Our Hotel
We got a killer deal (139/night!!) at our hotel - the Fairmont Hotel. It's an absolutely gorgeous hotel with beautiful rooms! Here is a photo of the outside of the hotel. It had a charm all of it's own :)
Adventures in San Francisco
We visited Alcatraz on Saturday and had a great time learning about life on the rock. Chris has been there three times, but loves it so much he can't stay away! Here's a shot I caught of him behind bars :)
Of course we took a city tour and saw the city :) I love taking city tours because you get an overview of the whole city in a few hours, and then can go back to the places that peaked your interest. Here's me in front of Postcard row...
The Golden Gate bridge is so beautiful - did you know the cables are this big?
The wind on Saturday was COLD and very strong! Check out my ponytail in this pic!
The last highlight I want to share is our evening with Chris' old old friend from High School Steve. Steve met us at our hotel Sunday night, and walked us all over town to several bars. We walked from the Fairmont down to Union Square and then accross town several blocks up and down the hills. I thought I was going to fall over with all of those steep hills! We had lots of fun though, and saw some really cool places!
When we went to Sausalito we found this great Wine shop with tastings & Art gallery. Heather had lots of fun tasting all kinds of wines from boutique wineries around California. I have to tell you, check out their wine club - I think it is most definitely worth the money!! http://www.bacchusandvenus.com/
Of course I can't end this post without showing one of Chris' passions. Every time - and I do mean EVERY time we see a big chair, Chris has to sit in it. This night was no exception...
Our Hotel
We got a killer deal (139/night!!) at our hotel - the Fairmont Hotel. It's an absolutely gorgeous hotel with beautiful rooms! Here is a photo of the outside of the hotel. It had a charm all of it's own :)
Adventures in San Francisco
We visited Alcatraz on Saturday and had a great time learning about life on the rock. Chris has been there three times, but loves it so much he can't stay away! Here's a shot I caught of him behind bars :)
Of course we took a city tour and saw the city :) I love taking city tours because you get an overview of the whole city in a few hours, and then can go back to the places that peaked your interest. Here's me in front of Postcard row...
The Golden Gate bridge is so beautiful - did you know the cables are this big?
The wind on Saturday was COLD and very strong! Check out my ponytail in this pic!
The last highlight I want to share is our evening with Chris' old old friend from High School Steve. Steve met us at our hotel Sunday night, and walked us all over town to several bars. We walked from the Fairmont down to Union Square and then accross town several blocks up and down the hills. I thought I was going to fall over with all of those steep hills! We had lots of fun though, and saw some really cool places!
When we went to Sausalito we found this great Wine shop with tastings & Art gallery. Heather had lots of fun tasting all kinds of wines from boutique wineries around California. I have to tell you, check out their wine club - I think it is most definitely worth the money!! http://www.bacchusandvenus.com/
Of course I can't end this post without showing one of Chris' passions. Every time - and I do mean EVERY time we see a big chair, Chris has to sit in it. This night was no exception...
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